Police officer dismissed for failing to pay £24

Police officer dismissed for failing to pay £24

A police officer who failed to pay £24 for her taxi fare after a night out with colleagues has been dismissed.

Police Constable Nicola Elston aged 30 who was attached to the Lambeth Borough had been enjoying a night out when she called a taxi to take her back to her home address.

When she arrived back home she refused to pay the driver £24 and got out of the taxi.

The angry taxi driver got out of the car and followed her demanding a payment and she and the driver became involved in an altercation.

The driver then accused her of punching him in the stomach and refusing to make a payment.

Officers arrived at her home address and were unable to get an answer after ringing her doorbell. She was arrested and questioned the next morning.

She told officers that she had made a payment having left the money on the back seat and getting out of the taxi after the driver became aggressive towards her.

She was ordered to pay £1000 in court costs, £15 victim surcharge and fined £150 having been found guilty of making off without payment.

She was found not guilty of assaulting the man. Following a misconduct hearing heard that the Police Constable did not mean to be dishonest having been jaded through drink.

However Sergeant Mick Kirk argued that her dismissal was wholly justified having breached dishonestly she would be incompatible to be retained by the Metropolitan Police.

Assistant Commissioner Helen King told the misconduct hearing that PC Elston was a capable and dedicated officer however after considering aggravating factors she did not accept responsibility for her actions.

She further confirmed that “PC Elston had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol on that evening but, as in a criminal court, that cannot be used as an excuse.

“She also made allegations against the victim and continues to push the blame towards others.”

Hero Cops save girls life of girl who wanted to kill herself

Two fast-thinking police officers have helped saved the life of a girl who text her mate saying she wanted to end her life. Officers were quickly alerted and began searching for the girl.

The officers were alerted to the incident in the early hours of November 14, when Police Constables Daryl Jones and Mark Bullock, from Southend’s Local Policing Team, were patrolling Southend.

With the clock against them, the officers began searching the area and found a girl who matched the description. She had walked four miles from her home alone after sneaking out in the middle of the night and was on her way to Southend town centre to harm herself. The pair pulled over and approached the girl cautiously.

Upon seeing the officers, the girl broke down and became upset. Daryl and Mark reassured her that they were there to help her. After calmly engaging with the girl, the officers managed to negotiate with her to get in the police car so they could get her out of the cold and talk to her.

She spoke openly with Daryl and Mark about the difficulties she had been experiencing and how she had text her friend in the hope that the friend would get help for her.

She thanked the officers for finding her so quickly and the pair reassured her that they would get her the further help she needed.

Daryl waited with her whilst Mark made a difficult call to her parents to inform them of the situation and that their daughter had not come to any harm. Her dad thanked the officers for finding his daughter so quickly and ensuring her safety.

The girl was taken to a mental health suite for assessment and her parents thanked the officers again for finding their daughter so quickly and getting her the help she needed.

Daryl said: “I’ve never seen more of a genuine reaction for help from someone than when the young girl broke down when she saw myself and Mark and knew we were there to help her.”

Mark said: “We were just fortunate that we were in the right place at the right time and were able to locate her and help her, I have no doubt if we hadn’t of found her it would have been a different outcome.”

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Tram driver arrested: Several dead following croydon derailment.

Several people have sadly been killed after a tram derailed in Croydon, leaving five people trapped and more than fifty people injured.

Police were alerted to the incident involing a two-car vehicle that happened at around 6.10am near the Sandilands tram stop.

The British Transport Police confirmed they have arrested the tram driver, Robin Smith assistant chief constable of British Transport Police said: “It is too early for us to confirm numbers but we are working hard to assess the ongoing incident and we are continuing to focus on recovery efforts.”

Emergency services have freed five trapped people, two remain trapped within the tram.

50 people have been taken to hospital for treatment. 31 were taken to Croydon health service’s emergency department while St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, is treating another 20 people, four of who it described as “seriously injured”.